1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to telecommunications systems, and more particularly, the present invention relates to caller identification systems.
2. Background of the Invention
“Caller-id” services such as calling number delivery (CND) and calling name delivery (CNAM) are well-known services implemented in Advanced Intelligent Networks (“AIN”). The implementation and operation of CND systems are described in Bellcore Specification TR-NWT-000031, Calling Number Delivery, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. CNAM systems are described in Bellcore Specification TR-NWT-001188, Calling Name Delivery Generic Requirements, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
Caller-id services operate by providing a signal to a caller-id display device attached to a subscriber's telephone line. The device interprets the signal and displays or stores the information for future display to the subscriber. Conventional caller-id services are not available when the subscriber is away from the home or office. That is, subscribers typically cannot access the information stored by the caller-id device without being physically present to operate the device. Another problem with conventional caller-id services is the limited amount of information provided to subscribers. Caller-id devices and public switched telephone network (PSTN) systems that provide conventional caller-id services typically support only text messages. Moreover, the text messages are typically limited to fifteen text-based characters. Caller-id devices typically have only a limited amount of memory so as to make them inadequate for long-term record-keeping purposes.
Some in the art have sought to overcome some of these problems by designing computer-based software and hardware systems which are connected to the subscriber's telephone line. When an incoming call is received, the signal destined for the caller-id device is intercepted and the information can be input into a database to make a log of all inbound calls. These systems have been known to fail and result in the subscriber's telephone being tied up until the subscriber is made aware of the problem. Also, such end-user solutions do not take full advantage of multimedia resources available via modem communications networks.